Is outdoor VR possible?

Best Answer: No, it is not recommended to use the Oculus Quest outside. You can, however, enjoy it practically anywhere indoors.

• Untethered VR experience: Oculus Quest (From $399 on Amazon)

VR playspaces

With the latest standalone VR headset, the Oculus Quest, you can finally take your VR experience anywhere you want...almost, anyway. The majority of VR playspaces are tethered to their PCs, so the experience has so far been limited to a living room, work-space, convention halls, and VR arcades.

With the Oculus Quest, you can define your playspace with an untethered headset making the possibilities endless. Using the Oculus Insight tracking, you can even define multiple rooms to use the Quest, so you don't have to always use the same playspace. With this new freedom, players may thing the sky is the limit. Of course, with that comes the question: can I use my Oculus Quest outside?

A sunny disposition

While the Quest has some ability to work outside, there are many reasons not to do this. First, on a particularly sunny day, the cameras used to track your controllers will not work as well as intended. While the Quest relies on having a well-lit playspace, the glare from the sun is going to be too much and it will cause interference.

Also, the lenses on any VR headset are extremely susceptible to the sun's rays. If you've ever burned anything with a magnifying glass on a hot summer day, this is exactly what you could do to your headset. The rays focus through the lenses and can potentially burn the screens on the inside of the headset. All headset instruction manuals caution against this type of damage, and it is definitely not covered by any warranty.

Another issue when taking your VR headset outside is moisture. All VR headsets are susceptible to moisture (likely not covered by a warranty), and taking it outside just increases the chance of water damage. Lastly, if you play outside, you have very little control over your environment. While playing inside, you can create a nice and safe play area. Outside, you introduce many elements out of your control, such as animals, vehicles, and other hazards. It's just not worth the risk to your health or headset to play outdoors.

Oculus Quest

Untethered VR

$399 on Amazon

Brand new untethered territory

The Oculus Quest is the newest all-in-one VR device to take your gaming on the go. It doesn't require a PC and no cables are needed, so you are completely untethered! This is the first truly standalone VR gaming experience.